Wayne wrote regarding my table lighting setup:
>Just be careful when photographing stuff like silver with that setup, it can
>come out looking more like pewter because of the flatness of the lighting
>and lack of specular reflections.
Very true if you have the strobe too far above the vellum. By locating the
strobe close enough to the vellum it will create a nice hot spot without
getting too specular. In this case I might place additional strobes at
VERY LOW power settings outside of the setup around the room to give me the
specular highlights. The goal of these additional strobes isn't to light
the scene, just to provide a highlight somewhere in the reflections.
On a differing opinion on shooting silverware, though: The majority of
silverware is photographed these days with softboxes. It isn't uncommon to
do my exact light table setup with a large softbox hanging over the objects
to be photographed instead of the vellum. The only real advantage to
vellum over a large softbox is the feathered lighting effect specifically
on glassware.
Personal opinion here, but I prefer the feathered look of the vellum or
even umbrellas to softboxes. To me, softboxes are way overused and
misused. I rarely like seeing a softbox in a reflection. Of course,
umbrellas are distgusting too, but that is where photographic technique
comes in. If we photographers are doing our jobs right, the photographic
process should be invisible in the final picture.
Ken Norton
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